Asanas: Why I Love Camatkarasana

Hello, lovelies!

Today I will be writing a short post breaking down an asana I love. I’ve done this in the past with tree pose and with legs up on the wall. Honestly, writing about an asana seems to be something I do for the blog when I’m crunched for time. I focused a lot of energy this week on rebuilding my personal goals – I started researching yoga teacher training, which is exciting but scary and waaaay outside my comfort zone. I think 2016 is the year for me to really push myself out of my bubble. I want to see what I can really accomplish, and I have a feeling a hope that this blog is just a small start. I also researched poses and cautions for new moms to make a video on postpartum depression, but unfortunately this weekend did not come with enough time to film, edit, and post that video.

All of this rambling is basically to say this: I have a lot of things I want to put on this blog, and a lot of things that I’m slowly working on, but for now, a post on an asana is it.

Not that I’m skimping on this post! I always enjoy learning about the breakdown of asanas that I practice. It’s nice to be reminded of why these poses are helpful, especially after practicing them for a while.

Today I’ll be breaking down the wild thing pose, or camatkarasana. This pose is a backbend, which is great for soothing anxiety and depression. I usually practice this pose after spending some time opening my hips – it feels great and honestly, it makes me feel like a rockstar. Backbends are not my strength. (But to be fair, I don’t practice them enough.) That being said, even I can master this simple yet beautiful backbend.

To practice this pose, start in downward facing dog. Keeping your hips square, lift up your right leg to come to three legged dog. When you’re ready, open up your hips by taking your right leg bent over your left, eventually twisting all the way over in to a backbend with both legs on the ground and your belly facing up. Your right hand should be off the ground in this position, lifting up and out. If you feel like it, you can also make a mudra with your right hand. Breathe in to the pose and let your head drop. When ready to release the pose, breathe and lift your right leg, twisting your torso back to three legged dog. From there, transition back to downward facing dog. Feel free to go through a vinyasa before repeating on the left side.